Now booking enterprise content platform builds for 2026. Contact us

Join us
Contact us

What we build

Who it's for

How we engage

Case studies

Industries

Partnerships

About

Writing

Tools

For startups Join us
Contact us
CMS comparison Ghost vs WordPress

Ghost vs WordPress

Ghost is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. WordPress is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 16.

Book a call
  • Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in
  • WordPress Traditional · Open source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Ghost on 29 Sept 2026, WordPress on 29 Sept 2026. Plans and releases can change after those dates.

WAYF is an official Payload partner and top contributor. Every platform in the table is classified by the same published definitions, and each answer lists the vendor page it came from.

Feature comparison

Built inPaid tierPlugin or add-onLimitedNot available
Ghost vs WordPress feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Ghost Traditional
WordPress Traditional
Overview
What it is Open-source Node.js publishing platform with built-in newsletters, memberships and paid subscriptions. Self-hosted or run on Ghost(Pro).Open-source PHP CMS that renders sites through themes and extends through plugins. Teams self-host it or buy managed WordPress hosting.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Ghost 6, self-hosted open source and Ghost(Pro) Version 6.65.0, released 22 Sept 2026 WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org Version 7.1.2, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org WordPress.org community project (Automattic is the largest contributor) wordpress.org
Licence Open source MIT Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Ghost(Pro) Starter allows only the default theme and no custom integrations. Self-hosting No vendor cloud Automattic's WordPress.com and many third-party hosts sell managed WordPress.
Built with Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themesPHP, JavaScript, React block editor
Database MySQLMySQL, MariaDB
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free to self-host. Ghost(Pro) Starter $18, Publisher $29, Business $199 per month, billed yearly. Free to start Free to download and self-host. Hosting and premium plugins cost extra.
Content modelling
Content model in code You define content types in files in your repository, review them like any other code and apply them from there. Imperative migration scripts alone count as limited. Not available Fixed model of posts, pages, tags and members. Built in Post types, taxonomies and meta registered in PHP.
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Not available Plugin or add-on ACF or Custom Post Type UI plugins. Core has no content type builder. 12
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Fixed set of editor cards plus reusable snippets. 10 Built in Block editor with patterns and synced patterns.
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Not available One content language per site. Plugin or add-on WPML or Polylang plugins. Core translates the interface only. 13
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in Ghost generates theme-defined image sizes automatically. 5 Built in WordPress generates registered image sizes on upload.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Content API and Admin API. 12 Built in 5
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Plugin or add-on WPGraphQL, a canonical plugin on WordPress.org. 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in Via custom integrations. Not available on Ghost(Pro) Starter. 42 Plugin or add-on WP Webhooks plugin. Core sends no outgoing webhooks. 16
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Built in Handlebars themes. Built in Block themes and classic PHP themes.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Limited Edits to a published post go live on Update. No pending draft. 13 Limited Edits to a published post go live on update. PublishPress Revisions adds pending drafts. 11
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Scheduled publishing only. Built in Scheduled publishing only. Scheduled unpublishing needs a plugin.
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Post history with one-click restore. 6 Built in Revisions with a visual scrubber since 7.0. 2
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Built in
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Not available The admin toolbar on the live site links to the editor. 9 Built in Block Editor and Site Editor edit content inside the theme's styles.
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Limited Contributors draft and Editors publish. No configurable stages. 7 Plugin or add-on PublishPress plugins. Core has only the Pending Review status. 711
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Not available
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live. Not available Not available Pulled from 7.0. Still experimental in the Gutenberg plugin. 3418
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Not available Fixed staff roles. 7 Plugin or add-on Plugins such as Members or User Role Editor. Core roles are fixed. 7
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Not available
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier Ghost(Pro) Custom plan only. Not in self-hosted Ghost. 2 Plugin or add-on SAML or OIDC plugins, e.g. miniOrange SAML Single Sign On. 15
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Built in History log of staff actions. 8 Plugin or add-on Simple History or WP Activity Log plugins. 14
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Not available Built in Multisite network in core, with shared users. 8
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Not available The admin app has no extension points. Built in Custom blocks, admin pages and meta boxes.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Limited Theme marketplace only. Ghost has no plugin system. 2 Built in WordPress.org plugin directory.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Member signup forms only. Plugin or add-on Form plugins such as WPForms or Contact Form 7. 17
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Built in Members with free and paid tiers. 3 Built in Open registration with the Subscriber role. 7
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available Plugin or add-on Official AI plugin plus a connected provider. Core ships the AI Client only. 29
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Community MCP servers only. 11 Plugin or add-on MCP Adapter plugin from the WordPress AI team. 10

Considering more platforms? Compare Ghost and WordPress with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Ghost and WordPress get a different status on 16 of the 28 features and the same status on 12. Ghost has 10 built in on its baseline edition, WordPress has 13. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Vendor cloud
Ghost has a vendor-run cloud. WordPress has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Ghost, a different answer on WordPress 2

  • Webhooks Ghost: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Audit log Ghost: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on WordPress, a different answer on Ghost 5

  • Content model in code Ghost: Not available. WordPress: Built in.
  • Visual editing Ghost: Not available. WordPress: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Ghost: Not available. WordPress: Built in.
  • Extensible admin UI Ghost: Not available. WordPress: Built in.
  • Plugin marketplace Ghost: Limited. WordPress: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 9

  • Content model in the UI Ghost: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Localization Ghost: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • GraphQL API Ghost: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Approval workflows Ghost: Limited. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Custom roles Ghost: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Single sign-on Ghost: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Form builder Ghost: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant Ghost: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server Ghost: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: WordPress vs Payload.

Ghost against other platforms

WordPress against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.

Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.

Book a 25-min call Or email us instead